Become A Music Monster Overnight! [EN]: Chapter 156

Music Monster Overnight! Episode 147

Chapter 45. Wuhan Pneumonia [A now outdated and potentially offensive term for COVID-19. The author likely used it due to the time of writing. Consider replacing with ‘Novel Coronavirus’ or ‘COVID-19’ for modern readers.]

For a fan, such hardship was worth enduring.

Because, with a bit of luck alongside the hardship, one could sometimes encounter their star even closer than the highest-grade R seats.

Due to this fact, some fans deliberately aimed for the standing area.

Lee Da-hye also knew this, so she looked at the fans standing in the front with envious eyes.

“If I were still in school……”

If she were a college student before starting her career, she would have been one of them.

However, she had to save her vacation time as much as possible for future plans.

The concert tour that Black Tiger had currently announced was a world tour.

That meant she would have several more opportunities to get tickets.

Immediately, there would be Japan and China, and besides those, there would be the United States and Europe.

As she was showing her willingness to participate in all those concerts, she had to plan her time as efficiently as possible, considering the round-trip flights and such.

“Oh my! I have to buy this!”

Her disappointment soon disappeared as she visited the merchandise shop prepared for the concert.

Whether the person who made this merchandise was a true Black Cat [Black Tiger’s fandom name] like herself, each and every item was truly to her liking.

Thanks to that, even though she had prepared a large bag, her bag was already full.

She spent a lot of money, but she didn’t bat an eye.

Unlike the past when she had plenty of time but no money, she now had money instead of time as a working adult.

She swiped her card for a month’s salary right there and had to leave the merchandise shop, regretting that she couldn’t take any more.

Afterward, she waited for the performance with other Black Cats, sharing their fan spirit in various ways.

And…….

-Waaaaah!-

The performance began.

The fans couldn’t hide their cheers when they saw the opening guest team.

That was because they were currently the hottest idol group in the world.

-‘21’-

Debuting and immediately hitting diamond status [Likely refers to a high sales certification level], and even continuing to hold the Billboard number one spot for six weeks, even Black Cats couldn’t resist the charm they possessed.

Moreover, the synchronized dance they showed with all members present was a spectacle beyond words.

Lee Da-hye was also momentarily mesmerized by the synchronized dance of ‘21’.

“As expected of YC!”

She got goosebumps when she learned that YC had produced this amazing synchronized dance for the ‘21’ boy group amidst his busy schedule.

The success of ‘21’ could be said to be a monumental event for YC Entertainment in many ways.

Because it immediately shattered the perception of people who had prejudices such as ‘girl group 맛집 [matjib: a popular or well-known restaurant, in this context, an agency known for producing successful girl groups]’ or ‘an entertainment company that only makes girl groups.’

She was admiring ‘21’ in a different sense, and there were quite a few people who thought like this.

After performing as many as five songs, ‘21’ stepped down, and only then did the main performance begin.

-Thump, thump-

Lee Da-hye experienced her heart pounding so loudly that she could hear it in her ears even before it started, and then a roar erupted that drowned out even her heartbeat.

-Waaaaaaaaah!-

It was all thanks to YC, who appeared with a guitar on his back.

-Jajajajang!-

As if to repay the fans’ cheers, he immediately showed off his guitar shredding, and thanks to that, the fans’ cheers seemed endless.

After showing off his guitar shredding for about two minutes to the frantically cheering fans, he glanced at his colleagues who had taken their places and turned his head back to the fans, saying.

“Long time no see, everyone. How have you been?”

-Yesss!-

-I love you!-

The fans screamed and answered his one word, and of course, Lee Da-hye was among them.

It was doubtful whether she, who showed a fairly thorough image within the law firm, was the same person, as she was now completely out of her mind.

As always, the first song was ‘Old Soldiers Never Die.’

“Ah!”

And the true fans who listened to ‘Old Soldiers Never Die’ with Lee Da-hye couldn’t help but be impressed.

They had listened to Black Tiger’s songs countless times and had been to concerts several times, so they knew.

That Black Tiger had returned even more grown this time.

It was truly unbelievable that music could grow like this, unless it was a band like G1, composed of teenagers or those in their twenties, or Red Witch.

Two years ago, many critics said that Black Tiger was now complete.

They were words close to praise, but within them was a psychology that they would not be able to move forward any further.

However, as if making fun of these many critics’ thoughts, ‘WORLD,’ which was released last year, was an all-time album.

Simply put, the advantage of the song was secondary, and it was the result of the overall level of music growing.

The level of Black Tiger’s music was so high that it would not be strange to achieve a great record of 17 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and it was difficult to find any shortcomings even when compared to past bands.

‘And at the center of that is YC.’

It wasn’t just that the band members’ skills were excellent that made the band popular.

Rather, the better the skills, the more likely they were to fall into their own artistry and move away from popularity, so there was a high possibility that it would simply become an album that only a few people liked.

However, YC easily managed to hold both artistry and popularity in his hands, and made it clear why they were not only the best at the current moment but also one of the top bands among the all-time legends.

Considering that even the legendary bands of the past receive memories [referring to the nostalgia factor], it would not be an exaggeration to say that Black Tiger is virtually creating a new history in the not-so-short history of the band.

The stage that started with ‘Old Soldiers Never Die’ continued for more than three hours.

In particular, there were several stages that pleased her ears and eyes, one of which was YC’s piano stage, which is praised even in the classical music world.

YC often had such solo stages for the rest of the older uncles [endearing term for the older band members] at every concert, and among them, he presented this piano stage when a long break was needed.

“I…… I feel like I’m going to die because it’s so good!”

Starting with a solo piano version of ‘Painkiller,’ which had topped the Billboard Hot 100 for the longest time ever, the piano performances of ‘Snow Lady’ and ‘Snow Country,’ which can still be easily heard on the streets in Japan and Korea in winter, were enough to melt the hearts of listeners.

Listening to the transparent piano sound heard in that delicate touch, one would be left wondering if the piano sound they had known so far was correct.

Afterward, YC showed an impromptu piano performance, and then the concert came to an end after continuing with five more songs.

-Black Tiger did Black Tiger things [meaning they lived up to their reputation].-

-Proved on stage that the sound shown in ‘WORLD’ was not a lie.-

-YC showed an all-time piano performance. Especially, it’s hard to believe that the last piano performance was made on the spot!-

-Critic Lee Pyung-shik! Confirmed that Black Tiger would be the number one band of all time.-

-The more concert reviews go up, the more the resale ticket prices go up!-

It was Black Tiger’s concert in Korea after a long time, but the heat of the concert was getting hotter and hotter, as if the gap had not been felt.

There would be several reasons for this, but one of them would be their level of music that was recognized after ‘WORLD.’

Critic Lee Pyung-shik, who is famous as a harsh critic, had even confirmed that he would put Black Tiger at the top of the all-time bands, and there was a lot of talk among experts about this, but it is true that most of them showed opinions similar to his.

It was not easy to agree due to taste or memories, but they could not help but acknowledge the level of music.

The battle between these critics was also featured on TV shows, and thanks to that, the resellers were tearing their mouths [slang for being extremely happy or eager].

Although it is being cracked down on, it was still a job where you could make a lot of money if you succeeded in selling it.

In that way, the concert in Korea, the first place of the world tour, ended with an all-time response.

The next tour location is Japan.

Amidst the already heated reaction to purchasing tickets, Lee Da-hye, of course, jumped into purchasing those tickets.

She even showed the passion of coming to a hotel with the best internet facilities in Japan to purchase tickets.

“Success!”

As if her efforts had paid off.

She succeeded in getting the seat she wanted this time as well.

As the heat of the concert she had already experienced in Korea still remained, she had to shiver several times at the success of this ticketing.

In that way, Black Tiger, who finished their concerts in Asia after starting in Korea and spending a hot summer, went to the United States in the fall.

* * *

After passing through Asia, they landed in the United States in the fall.

The scale of the concerts in the United States that started in that way was similar to last year’s All Stadium Tour.

Of course, they had to hold concerts in the United States for nearly half a year.

‘It will be next March before we can move to Europe.’

The scale of the European tour was also not reduced compared to the scale held two years ago.

Rather, there were many words within the company that they wanted to increase it, but I calmed them down and decided to proceed at the same level as in the past.

“The world tour is definitely tough.”

I could feel that the physical strength of the uncles, who had been thoroughly managing their physical condition by excluding not only flour but also gluten-related foods, had recently been declining.

Well, they were about to turn sixty the year after next, so there was a limit no matter how much they managed themselves.

Fortunately, everyone, including Uncle Kwak Do-hoon, had a strong constitution, so they were enduring this tight schedule, but if that wasn’t the case, they wouldn’t have dared to do a world tour of this scale no matter how much they managed themselves.

‘Actually, that’s why I decided on the world tour.’

If it wasn’t when the uncles were even a year younger, they wouldn’t be able to do a world tour of this scale even if they tried to later.

There is a high possibility that only a formal level of world tour will be held.

That’s why I’m secretly thinking that I made a good decision about this world tour.

“Ugh. I’m going to get a massage.”

“Didn’t you get one this morning?”

“My body feels sluggish and the fatigue doesn’t seem to go away easily.”

As Uncle Moon Il-beom turned his body this way and that, I looked at him with worried eyes, and Uncle Kwak Do-hoon, who happened to be passing by, looked at Uncle Moon Il-beom with a pathetic expression and said.

“Tsk, tsk. I knew it from the moment you were excited and making a fuss. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a bass player act like that.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

I was mainly performing at the front of the band, so I couldn’t check behind where the uncles were, so it seemed like there was a situation I didn’t know about.

“……That’s. There’s something like that. Anyway, I’m going to get a massage.”

“Let’s go together. I need to get some and take a nap. The new person is good at it.”

“I don’t know if they’re good at it or if they’re strong.”

Because Uncle Kwak Do-hoon had such tremendous muscles, it was not easy to find a masseuse he liked.

Then, in the process of performing in China, he met a masseuse who was continuing traditional martial arts, and since then, Uncle Kwak Do-hoon has become addicted to massage.

Fortunately, the masseuse was not large, but I was relieved that she was able to accept Uncle Kwak Do-hoon’s request without much difficulty because she was strong.

“They said this winter would be the worst ever, and it seems like it’s true.”

Originally, the United States was a place where there was a huge fuss every time due to the flu, but this year was especially so.

For this reason, separate inspections and disinfection were thoroughly carried out before entering the concert hall.

It is important to minimize the number of flu patients that could occur at the concert hall.